Invisible String

Chapter 40 - Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

After a while, I stood up, took a shower, got dressed, and grabbed my things. I got to Jaiden's place within the hour and rang up to his apartment from the elevator.

He didn't answer. I went over to the front desk and asked the woman working to call up to him. He still didn't answer, and I began worrying. I held my hands tightly together as she checked his list of approved visitors, meaning they didn't have to have his approval to go in every time. She looked up and smiled at me and said I was, then she buzzed me up to his room. When the elevator doors opened, there was loud music blasting through his home. I followed the source of the sound to his room. I opened the door, and he was lying on the bed, asleep.

I went over and leaned in front of him and kissed his lips. They were warm. I put my hand over his forehead. He was sweating and clammy.

"Jaiden?" I said, shaking him awake. He opened his eyes slowly. He put his hands over his ears and cupped them, curling into a fetal position. I turned off the stereo blaring noise. "Jaiden," I said, running back over to him.

"Hannah?" his voice cracked as he opened his eyes again to look at me. He was pale and looked like he was on his death bed.

"What happened?"

He sat up slowly, my hands clutched in his, the blanket fell off his shoulders. "Hannah?" He said, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my waist. "You came back."

"Of course I did," I said, running my fingers through his wet hair. "What's wrong with you, Jaiden?"

He looked up into my eyes like a sad puppy. "I love you, Hannah."

I leaned forward and kissed him hard on the lips. I pulled back and said, "I love you, too, Jaiden."

He smiled wide, his lips were chapped and cracked like nothing I'd ever seen before. "I did it for you," he said, kissing me again, then leaned his forehead on mine. "I won't do it again. Not ever."

It finally dawned on me that he was going through withdrawal. I stood up, wrapped my arms around his head, and he laid it against my stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Hannah," he said, crying into it. "I won't keep anything from you again."

When he was finished, I got him up from the bed and took him into his bathroom. I undressed him, because he was too far out of it to do it himself, and turned on the bathwater. He had a huge, jetted tub, so I helped him in, then climbed in and sat in front of him. I helped to wash his hair and clean him off. He tried to make advances on me, but I pushed him off, knowing it wouldn't be right to do anything sexual at that moment. It would take too much effort and energy from him. And he needed everything he had to fight whatever was going on inside of him right now.

We got out of the shower, and I made sure to dry him off as well as possible because he had the shakes. We went back into his bed, I covered him with tons of blankets, and he fell asleep after a while. I laid next to him on my phone, surfing through the internet, trying to find out what I was in for the next few days.

It wasn't pretty. He already had many of the symptoms I came across, but I hadn't seen him throw up, and I was afraid of some of the other things that could happen. But I knew I couldn't call anyone unless it was severe enough, because his whole reputation would be even more tarnished than it already was. And he wouldn't be able to repair it at some point.

So I kept a close eye on him in the next few days. I didn't see anyone, I missed my lunch with James, and I didn't have the heart to talk to my family even though they called occasionally. Instead, I stayed by Jaiden's side, overseeing him, making sure he ate and drank tons of fluids. By the sixth day, he was doing much better. He was slightly irritable, but the worst of the withdrawal was over.

We woke up in the morning, face to face. He kissed me on the lips and pulled back, his eyes closed. "How are you feeling?" I asked him, running my fingers down his cheek. He kissed them as they passed by his lips.

He looked into my eyes. "I have a headache."

I leaned forward and kissed him softly, then got up and grabbed the nearby bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water. He took four pills, then drank the rest of the water.

He laid back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Let's get out of the house today."

"You just said you have a headache," I said, getting up and putting on my clothes.

For the first time in a week, we had sex last night. It was slow, uncomplicated sex. I insisted that he let me stay on top the entire time to save his energy. He didn't argue too much.

I brushed my hair and put it back into a small ponytail since it was finally long enough. I walked over and sat on his side of the bed, and he rested his hand on my legs.

"I'm tired of being cooped up in here. I haven't been out in a week, Hannah." He turned over and smiled, "That's almost worse than not having sex with you for a week."

I smiled back, kissed him, and then reached out my hands to help him out of bed. He shook his head, sat up slowly, and then stood, without shaking or wobbling at all.

I did a small clap, and he jokingly glared at me. "Ha-ha, very funny."

"I'm just happy. You're almost back to yourself."

"If you even know who I really am without them," he said bitterly as he walked over to his dresser. He stopped after opening a drawer. I stood still, staring at his back. He sighed. "That came out meaner than I meant for it to, Han. I'm sorry."

He turned around to look at me, and I shrugged.

"You're right. I don't know you without the drugs, I guess." I leaned against his bed. "I hadn't thought of that before."

He put on his shirt and came over and stood in front of me. "Hannah, I'm just cranky. I've been in the house for too long. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He reached out and pulled me up against him. "You know me. You know who I am." He brushed stray hairs back from my face. "Other than the drugs, I haven't hidden anything from you." He touched the tip of my chin with his thumb and pressed his lips on mine. When he pulled back, he said, "I love you."